The morphology and anatomy for most of cerrado species are unknown, specially in relation to fruits and seeds. Thus, this work was carried out to analyze the morphology and anatomy of developing fruits and seeds of Byrsonima intermedia, one of the most frequent species of cerrado from São Paulo State. It was verified that the ovary is ovate, superior, tricarpellate and trilocular, with one ovule per locule; the outer epidermis is unisseriate and presents thick cuticle in the apex and thin in the base of the ovary; the mesophyll is multisseriate, parenchymatic and vascularizated; the inner epidermis is unisseriate with cells obliquelly elongated. The ovules are subcampilotropous, bitegmic, with nucellus projecting out of the micropyle; hipostasis and epistasis are observed. During the development of the pericarp, cellular divisions are restricted to the initial phase, occurring prior to the seminal differentiation. The mature fruit is fleshy, with fibrous pyrene forming three locules. The exocarp is unisseriate; the outer mesocarp is parenchymatous; in apical region of the fruit, sclereids occur surrounded by radial arranged parenchyma cells; in inner mesocarp some layers of sclereids occur, elongated in diverse ways; endocarp is multisseriate with the sclereids longitudinally elongated. The meso-endocarpic origin of the lignified regions of the pericarp is not in agreement to the classic definition of the drupoid fruits, that detaches only the wood endocarp. The seed presents reduced integuments and endosperm. The embryo axis is continuous with two cotyledons rolled spirally.
anatomy; development; fruit; morphology; "murici"
